Software Development Terms Beginning with C
call()
call() is one of JavaScript’s built-in methods that you can use to reassign a specific method from one object to a different one.
Call-After (JavaScript)
A call-after is a function A passed as an argument into a function B and invoked inside function B.
Callback (JavaScript)
A callback is a function A passed as an argument into a function B and invoked inside function B.
Calling Array in JavaScript
A calling array is an array on which you used methods like map()
, filter()
, or slice()
.
Calling String in JavaScript
A calling string is a string on which you used methods like replace()
or matchAll()
.
Capturing Group (RegExp)
A regular expression’s capturing group operator ((...)
) groups zero or more patterns.
Caret (RegExp)
A regular expression’s caret operator ([^abc]
) defines the set of characters you do not wish to find in a single character’s position.
Chained Conditional Operator in JavaScript
A chained conditional operator is an alternate (shortcut) way of writing an if...else if...else
statement.
Chained Question Mark Operator in JavaScript
A chained question mark operator is an alternate (shortcut) way of writing an if...else if...else
statement.
Chained Ternary Operator in JavaScript
A chained ternary operator is an alternate (shortcut) way of writing an if...else if...else
statement.
Character
A character is a writable (or printable) mark.
Character Classes (RegExp)
Regular expression’s character classes are operators used to specify the precise type of characters you wish to find in a specific string.
Character Encoding
Character encoding is the method used to encode a character from its standard form into code.
Character Set
A character set (also called repertoire) is a group of characters collated for a specific purpose.
The purpose for collating characters could be computer related, like coding, or non-computer related, like music.
Here are some examples:
♠ ♤ ♥ ♡ ♣ ♧ ♦ ◊
is the symbols character set of a playing card suit. It consists of eight individual characters.9817
is the repertoire of a numeral value. It consists of four unique characters.
Character Set (RegExp)
A regular expression’s character set ([abc]
) defines the set of characters you wish to find in a single character’s position.
Chunk
A chunk refers to the modified section of a file.
A chunk consists of the modified line and its context, where context means some unaltered lines before and after the modified line.
Class Body
A class’s body is where you place a sequence of statements.
Here’s the syntax:
Class Component
A class component is a plain JavaScript Class that extends a user-defined class to the built-in React.Component
class located inside the React library.
Class Field
A class field is a property defined directly in a class’s body—not inside any of the class’s methods.
class
Keyword in JavaScript
A class
keyword declares to browsers that a specific piece of code is a JavaScript class—not a mathematical or other generic class.
Class Name
A class name allows you to create an identifier for your class, which you can use to reference it.
Client-Side Navigation
Client-side navigation means JavaScript—not the browser—manages the navigation between an app’s pages. This is faster than the browser’s default navigation.
For instance, a Next.js app uses a Link
component to navigate between pages rather than the browser’s default anchor (<a>
) element. Therefore, transitioning between pages in Next.js does not cause a page to reload. Whereas using the browser’s <a>
element causes a complete refresh.
Closures (JavaScript)
A closure is a function that retains access to its lexical scope’s features even after its execution closes.
Code (Computing)
Code is any language that computers can understand and process.
Code (Number system)
Code is the character or character set you create to disguise or represent another character.
Code Block
A block is a pair of braces ({...}
) used to group multiple statements.
Code Point
A code point is the unique numerical value (code) assigned to a character for unambiguous referencing.
For instance, 0037
is the code point for character 7
. And 2665
is the code point for the Black Heart Suit ♥
.
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Code Space
Code space is the space available for code points.
For instance, a 7-bit code unit has code space for 27 code points (128 unique numbers).
In other words, you can derive only 128 unique numbers from a 7-bit code unit.
Likewise, a 3-bit code unit can only produce 23 (eight) different combinations of 1s and 0s.
So, a 3-bit code unit has space for only eight code points.
Code Splitting
Code splitting reduces an app’s initial loading time by splitting its bundle into smaller files browsers can load on demand or in parallel. In other words, code splitting divides your bundle into smaller chunks and lazy-loads only the code the user requests.
Code Unit
A code unit is the group of code accepted as the gauge for expressing a complete sequence of bits (binary digits).
For instance, the US-ASCII system accepts seven binary digits as the gauge for a single code unit. Meanwhile, eight binary digits make up one code unit in the EBCDIC system.
Coded Character
A coded character is a character that has a unique identification number for use in a computer.
In other words, any character having a computing code is a coded character.
For instance, digit 7
is a “coded character” because it has a unique identification number of 0037
.
Coded Character Set
A coded character set is a collection of characters where each character has an assigned code.
For instance, the ♠ ♤ ♥ ♡ ♣ ♧ ♦ ◊
playing cards suit is a “coded character set” because each character has unique identification numerals of 2660
, 2664
, 2665
, 2661
, 2663
, 2667
, 2666
, and 2662
respectively.
Command Line Interface (CLI)
A command line interface (CLI) is a computer’s text interface allowing you to type commands for the computer to run.
Commercial API
Commercial APIs are public APIs available to the public on pay-as-you-go or subscription fee terms.
Commit Hash (Git)
A commit hash is a long string that follows the word “commit” in a git log
command’s output.
In other words, whenever you run the git log
command, you will get an output like so:
The long string that follows the word “commit” in the snippet above is the commit hash.
The commit hash is a 40-character string which we sometimes call “SHA-1 checksum” or “Git commit reference.”
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Compiling
Compiling (or compile) means collating code from one version to another.
Composite API Release Policy
A composite API release policy allows publishing APIs to help unify multiple data or service APIs.
Computed Property Names
Computed Property Names refer to the name of a property that the computer derived by computing (evaluating) a bracketed expression.
concat()
JavaScript Array Method
concat() populates a new array with the concatenation of its calling array and its arguments.
concat()
JavaScript String Method
concat() creates a new string by concatenating its calling string and its arguments.
Concatenation
Concatenation means to join two or more things together. For instance, string concatenation implies the joining together of two or more strings.
Conditional Operator in JavaScript
A conditional operator is an alternate (shortcut) way of writing an if...else
statement.
Conditional Statement in JavaScript
A conditional statement is any code used to specify the prerequisites necessary for the computer to perform specific actions.
Configuration File (Webpack)
Webpack’s configuration file is a JavaScript file that allows you to modify or extend webpack’s default settings.
Constructor Function
A constructor function is a function the new
keyword uses to create a new object instance.
For instance, consider the snippet below:
The createBook()
function is a constructor function because the new
keyword used it to create the book1
object instance.
In other words, the new
keyword constructed a new object instance from the createBook()
constructor function. Therefore, book1
is an instance of createBook()
.
Content Management System
A Content Management System (CMS) is an application people use to build and manage websites without writing code.
Control Flow
Control flow means managing (controlling) the order (flow) in which the computer executes your program’s code.
Conditional logic and loops are the typical constructs developers use to control the flow of their program’s execution.
Controlled Component (ReactJS)
A controlled component is a component whose form’s data React controls exclusively.
Costly Operation (Computing)
A costly (or expensive) operation is a resource-intensive task. It is an operation that uses a lot of resources, such as CPU, memory, or disk drive.
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CPU Intensive
CPU intensive means high usage of a computer’s CPU resources.
Create React App
Create React App (CRA) is an official React package used to set up React projects easily without going through the troubles of configuring build tools like Webpack or Babel.
CSS
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a styling language that styles elements of an HTML document.
CSS Attribute Selector
A CSS attribute selector selects an HTML element based on the element’s attribute name or value.
CSS Basic Selector
A CSS basic selector selects an HTML element based on the element’s name, id, or class.
CSS Combinator Selector
A CSS combinator selector selects one or more HTML elements based on their relationship with some specified HTML nodes.
CSS Layout
CSS layout refers to the arrangement of box models in relation to one another and the browser’s viewport.
The eight (8) widely used page layout techniques for arranging CSS boxes on a webpage are:
- Normal flow
- Display property
- Flexbox
- Grid
- Float property
- Position property
- Table layout
- Multi-column layout
CSS Pseudo-Selector
A CSS pseudo-selector selects a specific part of an HTML element or selects an HTML element only when it is in a particular state.
CSS Ruleset
A CSS ruleset consists of an element selector and a properties declaration block.
CSS Selector
A CSS selector selects HTML elements. In other words, developers use CSS selectors in a stylesheet to select the HTML elements they which to style.
The four (4) types of CSS selectors are:
CSS Transform Functions
The CSS transform functions are the functions we use to translate, rotate, skew, scale, or add perspective effects to an HTML element.
CSS Unit
A CSS Unit is the standard of measurement used in CSS to express the size of a specific element’s property.
Currying
Currying means converting a function with multiple arguments to a series of functions with only one argument each.